Welcome to the website of actress, comedienne, artist and ukulele player Jayne Bickerton. New content is being added all the time so please check back regularly. We hope you enjoy exploring Jayne Bickerton Creations.Please take a look at Jayne's acting showreel below, featuring clips of Coronation Street, Phoenix Nights, That Peter Kay Thing and Lily Savage.....News............Yana and Cilla reunion! (Well sort of)Jayne spent a lovely afternoon with her old Corrie sparring partner Wendi Peters this week, getting up to all kinds of mischief. Below is the photographic evidence.Mark my words, those two are up to something!

Jayne’s biographyJayne Bickerton (maiden name Tunnicliffe) was born in West Yorkshire and lived there with her parents and her older brother until her late teens when she moved to Liverpool. Whilst there she started an art business with long time friend Mandy Craig helped by the Enterprise Allowance Scheme and a grant from The Prince’s Trust. Capitalising on the growing Liverpool tourist industry they specialised in Beatles artwork including commissions for John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird, and murals in many restaurants and bars including the Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, The Beatles Story at The Albert Dock and Liverpool's Cavern Club. In 1995 Jayne gained an honours degree in Art and Design. She also won an ‘Elle Magazine’ design award for a horoscope themed greetings card, judged by Sir Peter Blake and Karl Lagerfeld. The resulting card was sold in ‘Paperchase’. Since then Jayne has worked as a freelance artist, with private commissions from Paul O’ Grady, Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow in Coronation Street) Suranne Jones (who bought the picture of Steve and Karen from the Corriecatures exhibition) and public art commissions from various local councils and education authorities. She also had a solo exhibition of Coronation Street themed paintings in Manchester 2007. Entitled ‘Corriecatures,’ the pop art paintings featured memorable Corrie characters and were inspired by an idea from Jayne’s husband Mark Bickerton, who has worked for Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs in many creative guises. Mark also lived and worked in Rwanda after the genocide where he helped put together a writing team and assisted in creating a long-running educational radio soap opera called 'Urunana.'

Jayne (pictured left with banjolele) started out as a semi-punk performance poet on the alternative comedy circuit along with Mandy Craig in the rather excruciatingly named 'Dickiebards'. Appearing on the James Whale TV show and Bob Says Opportunity Knocks hosted by Bob Monkhouse led to the girls touring the country with comedy impressionist Phil Cool, and sharing the stage with Jo Brand, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans and Lonnie Donegan. Jayne carried on as a solo performer after Mandy decided it wasn't the career for her. She changed her stage name to Mary Unfaithful, added first a guitar and then a banjolele to her act, dropped the poetry and turned her hand to one liners and songs.As Mary Unfaithful she appeared on the BBC's Stand Up Show, Comedy Nation and Channel 5's The Big Stage with Bradley Walsh, and shared the stage with Peter Kay, Craig Charles, Dave Spikey, Justin Moorhouse, Jason Manford, Les Dennis, Little and Large, Charlie Chuck, John Cooper Clarke, Labi Siffre and Lily Savage.

﻿The picture above shows a very early Mary Unfaithful performance in Leeds, with faux leopard-clad Jayne as a brunette, playing an early Beatles style Hofner guitar. Groovy!﻿

An early publicity still.Jayne first picked up a banjolele when she worked as a Butlins Redcoat at Blackpool's Metropole Hotel. A Redcoat called Chris taught her to play '5 foot 2 eyes of blue'.

Jayne's first foray into acting was as a child sex abuse counsellor in BBC2's brilliantly gritty police series 'The Cops'. She then appeared in the much lauded factory drama 'Clocking Off', quickly followed by 'Peter Kay Live At The Top Of Blackpool Tower' 'That Peter Kay Thing' and 'Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights' (Jayne is pictured left with Peter Kay as Brian Potter).At the same time Jayne co-wrote and appeared in two series of 'Lily Live' with Paul O'Grady as Lily Savage. Jayne appeared as phone room girl Mary Unfaithful and contributed to Lily's topical monologues as well as various items and sketches. You can see clips from the series by clicking the 'On TV with Lily Savage' button on the left.

In 2004 Jayne landed a one off episode of Coronation Street playing Yana Lumb, the rough best friend of Cilla Battersby. Flirting with Les Battersby in the queue for a burger van outside the bingo, where a suspicious Les was stalking Cilla led to Jayne enjoying a four year stint on the show. Yana and Cilla were a classic Corrie comedy double act, getting up to all kinds of shenanigans such as stealing Blanche's mobility scooter in order to go shoplifting, setting fire to Wong's Chippy, trying to get off with Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi from Status Quo, and sitting in a bath of mushy peas with Les Battersby, before running down the Street wearing only a swimming costume and sandals...in November. Beverley Callard who plays Liz McDonald says she liked being in scenes with Yana and Cilla because their gaudy outfits made Liz McDonald's look classy! Whilst working at Coronation Street Jayne also met her future husband. She married Mark Bickerton in Sydney, Australia in January 2007.Since Coronation Street, Jayne has appeared in 'Mark's Brilliant Blog' for BBC3, 'Candy Cabs' for BBC1 and a TV film on ITV called 'Just Henry'. She has also appeared in a touring play called 'The Naked Truth' alongside Lisa Riley and recently made her panto debut playing Fairy Bow Bells opposite 'Only Fools and Horses' star John Challis at the Plaza Theatre Stockport.She also returned to stand up comedy in 2013 to great acclaim, with some new frocks, new jokes and songs and a new ukulele.

Mary Unfaithful and her uke (right) prepare to hit the stand up circuit, January 2013.

Above, Jayne Bickerton as Fairy Bow Bells, and John Challis as King Rat in Dick Whittington at Stockport Plaza 2013.

Above, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt from Status Quo, and Jayne Bickerton as Yana Lumb in Coronation Street. The poor Quo had feather boa burns by the final shot. It's a little known fact that Francis Rossi is also a keen ukulele player.

Below, Wendi Peters as Cilla Battersby Brown, Jayne Bickerton as Yana Lumb, and Bruce Jones as Les Battersby in Coronation Street's Rovers Return. I think some of Betty's hotpot must have stuck his leg to the carpet. Either that or he's proposing....